HBO Max’s Lanterns premiered on August 16, 2026, establishing the relationship between Hal Jordan and John Stewart before dropping a massive bombshell in the final minutes. The creative force behind the series – co-creators Damon Lindelof, Tom King, and showrunner Chris Mundy – agree with that, while ostensibly a superhero show, Lanterns is so much more than that. Lanterns is a detective series, a buddy cop story with two characters who, as Lindelof put it at HBO Max’s recent press conference, “are human beings first before they even put on the rings.”

Mundy said it was important to ground the series emotionally in Hal and John’s relationship and to quickly establish a sense of place. Influences included True Detective, No Country for Old Men, Midnight Run, and even rom-coms and classic Westerns.

The following are key takeaways from the Q&A with series stars Kyle Chandler (“Hal Jordan”), Aaron Pierre (“John Stewart”), Kelly Macdonald (“Sheriff Kerry”), Garrett Dillahunt (“William Macon”), and Poorna Jagannathan (“Zoe”) during the press conference held on August 13 in West Hollywood.

Lanterns Press Conference Highlights

On what was the most important detail to establish right away about how Hal and John see themselves and each other:

Kyle Chandler: […] The first thing that we did was to get to know each other on the set and to get to know all the other people on the set. And because it all takes a certain tone eventually that really – there’s certain things outside of what the actor wants to do that guide performance and everything. But, I mean, obviously, you know, once Aaron and I got to work together, it was very quick.

And along with James Hawes and Chris behind the monitor and working the cameras and sharing with us what they wanted, not what they were thinking, it became obvious really quickly that there was going to be a very cool collaborative process which freed us up. They were more than willing, I think, to let us make mistakes and to find our way so everyone could find something. Because of that, it didn’t take long for Aaron and I – I believe we both agree – to find a spot where, “Oh, okay, that’s you, that’s me, that’s my character, that’s your character.” And then we started playing back and forth.

All the rest of it fell into place, it’s all in the writing. I mean, it’s not too hard to figure out that Hal has a competitor here and he doesn’t want to admit it, but, you know, he’s getting a little older and things are happening, all those things that go on. And then you start thinking about deeper into the character and, you know, like, he’s pretty dark pathology, this dude. You know, this guy’s got kind of – Aaron can speak for himself – but kind of a weird childhood. All those things start falling in place, but they fell in place because of a lot of the help and a lot of the work we all did together and that freedom of just doing what we’re doing and enjoying what we’re doing.

Aaron Pierre: Yeah, I would say that the first thing that we wanted to establish was, as Kyle articulated beautifully, safety. We wanted to establish a safety within our partnership and dynamic and that extended way beyond us as well. We wanted to establish that with the entire team, the entire family who were pouring themselves into this to make it the best version of itself.

I think that is so important, and it is so critical, because once safety is established, then you feel an ease, and you feel at liberty to explore, try things, and eventually you’re going to get to the greatest place it can be because you feel free enough to get it wrong and fall forward. Kyle and I did a lot of falling forwards.

Chris hates compliments, but I’m going to give him one. To have Chris, you know, there every day and just allow us to, as Kyle says, the magic was already on the page. It was already there, but they knew we were always going to get from point A to point B, but how we got there, nobody knew. Nobody knew. Even when we’re five months into a six-month shoot, it’s just the nature of Kyle and me, we like to improvise. We like to try things. We like to never derail the story, but we like to surprise each other. And they permitted us freedom and liberty to do that. And that’s where some of the most beautiful moments are derived from, that feeling of safety and freedom.

On playing somebody in their 50s who’s a superhero and what that represents:

Kyle Chandler It’s a great opportunity. I mean, as far as I’m concerned, when I got this, I was like, “Oh wow, really? I’m going to be a superhero? Me?” But it was a great advantage, because there are things with your older years that come to you that you get to, in a project like this, you get to use them. You know, it’s like being married for 20 years and you’re playing a husband who’s got two kids and it’s 20 years and there’s things you know that no one else is going to know. And so that’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of humor in getting older, and there’s a lot of humor in this show.

It’s just you get to play out so many things. It’s important, I guess in a way too, it’s really important to show older people’s lives and this young culture that we’ve got going on. I mean, there’s a little bit of goodness and some wisdom and some of that.

On Sheriff Kerry’s skepticism of Hal:

Kelly Macdonald: As far as her view of Hal Jordan, I think she can see through him right away. And in a way, I think he does her as well. So, there’s this sort of magic from the get-go almost, even if they’re not … like, he’s looking at her entirely and she’s sort of looking at the football field and not [them]. Before you even see her, you hear her on the walkie-talkie. She’s aware of their presence. I don’t know, I just kind loved that about her when I was sent the script that she’s very bolshie and no-nonsense and swears a bit, I think, from what I remember. And, yeah, it’s all fun. That’s really fun stuff.

Plus, I also want to say, I’ve got this real thing for Americana and anything vaguely cowboy. I’ve got far too many pairs of cowboy boots in my wardrobe in Glasgow. It makes no sense. And so, playing her was, like, completely thrilling. I’m so okay about not being a superhero myself because I was the one that had the costume. I had a badge. I had a massive hat, Yosemite Sam style, and bespoke cowboy boots. I mean, it couldn’t have been better for me, so thank you.

On John Stewart’s decades-long role in science fiction as a symbol of hope and progress for Black audiences, and how his story resonates with both seasoned followers and those who are meeting him for the first time:

Aaron Pierre: I think that one of my favorite things about John Stewart and how he’s detailed and how he is written and shared with audiences is the truth and the honesty that is present within him and how he is just so immensely complex. But just like we all are, I think John has just an abundant number of access points to audience members.

I think he is somebody who is somebody who allows us to feel seen. He is somebody who allows us to feel heard, understood, comprehended, respected, and it’s an immense privilege and joy to have been given the opportunity to portray him in the first live-action version. The enormity of that gift is not lost on me. It’s not missed on me. I’m filled with gratitude.

And from the very moment that I knew I had the opportunity, I poured myself into it and continued to through pre-production, production itself, and even post-production beyond the point of filming it. I’m still, you know, ruminating on should we be gifted the opportunity to continue this journey, how I can excavate further, how I can go even deeper.

I did an immense amount of personal research before portraying John Stewart, but there is a point with every character that you portray, as is the case with every character I have portrayed, that you have to then bring a level of yourself and your truth to the portrayal, because otherwise it’s not authentic, and otherwise there is no opportunity for audiences to resonate with you because you are simply copying and pasting. So, it was a joy to also allow myself to be vulnerable enough, with the support of everybody here, to bring my heart and my soul and my experiences to this.

I feel very seen when I read John. John to me is somebody who is a raging sea internally. You know, externally he’s a gentleman, he’s precise, he’s accurate, he’s intentional, he’s clean. But internally, he’s a raging sea, he’s a tornado, he’s a volcano, and I give the analogy of, you know, going to someone’s house and it’s spotless, but you find that one room that they shoved everything in and it’s hell in there. I’ve had, you know, this is not therapy, so I won’t get into myself, but I’ve had my fair share of learning to master my sober mind and learning to navigate my experiences as somebody who does feel things very heavily and deeply.  So I feel very seen by John and I’m ready to do this till the wheels fall off, to be honest with you.

On what felt key in terms of deciding what to hold close to the vest and what you are allowing your character to show as a real declaration of intent:

Poorna Jagannathan: I think that, you know, this is – correct me if I’m wrong – but it’s a whodunit, right? It’s a bit of a murder mystery, but actually it’s a very profound dissertation on power. And that is also the case with Zoe and William Macon.

It becomes very clear pretty early on that both of us […] want to maintain the town’s power and we become a foil for the Green Lanterns in a certain way, you know? So, the exploration of this character is, first of all, she sees John and there’s an instant affinity. We’re probably the two people of color in a very, very white town, right? So, there’s an instant connection, instant curiosity that happens. But, you know, as it unfolds, it’s really exploring different power dynamics of different people and it’s very mysterious indeed.

Garret Dillahunt: I don’t know what to add to that. That was beautiful, Poorna. Well done. I think that’s a good point. You know, there’s nothing better than great writing. You know, it just does so much of our work for us, and baked into it, like Poorna said, is this weird power dynamic even between us.

I think there’s a lot of stereotypes that could have been applied, certainly to my character, and he seems open to all kinds of things that you wouldn’t suspect he would be, a guy who lives in this area and does what he does and seems to be pretty, you know, powerful in this small pond. And I love that their relationship, that it seems kind of free and easy.

I guess I can’t talk about much past [episode] one, but it is a pleasure to play and I’m sure grateful to be here. I just want to take this opportunity to say walking onto this set that you all put together, the script was something. But, you know, I’d never met Kyle before. I feel like I’ve known him for about 30 years now, we just got along great. And this young man here, Aaron, I don’t know, I hope you’ve seen some of his other work, but I know we’re just scratching the surface.

You should know I was on with [casting director] Alexa Fogel the other day, who put this thing together, and she also went and saw Aaron on stage in London playing in Cuckoo’s Nest, and she was so floored. She was like, “I’ve never seen him like that. I didn’t know he could do that,” He was completely different than what you see here. I think you’re going to see this face for John Stewart for years to come. It’s just I think they were waiting, I think Green Lantern was waiting for him. But it’s just a great group and I’m so thankful to you all for welcoming us so completely and giving us these great characters to play.

New episodes of Lanterns season one air on Sundays at 6pm PT/9pm ET on HBO Max.